Written with the clearly stated intent of inspiring readers to enter public service, this profile presents Glenn’s achievements, both on and off the planet, as the direct results of a lifelong commitment to larger causes. Opening with Glenn’s small-town upbringing (amid “a wholesome mixture of patriotism and a strong sense of community”), and closing with his 2004 testimony against the proposed flag-desecration amendment, Mitchell follows his career from pilot to astronaut to politician back to 1998, at the age of 77, astronaut again. Free of any reference to the “Right Stuff,” and so focused on the supposed scientific rationale of his return to space that its self-indulgent aspect goes likewise unmentioned, this cannot be characterized as an unbiased portrait. But Glenn’s family is present enough here to give the Senator a bit of human dimension, and in the end, he is an authentic American hero, whose exploits require no exaggeration to impress. Illustrated with plenty of large black-and-white photos and punctuated with motivational quotes, this presents a simplified but appealing alternative to the plethora of existing assignment-fodder biographies. (multimedia resource list) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-7922-5899-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006
Remarking that ``nothing about the weather is very simple,'' Simon goes on to describe how the sun, atmosphere, earth's rotation, ground cover, altitude, pollution, and other factors influence it; briefly, he also tells how weather balloons gather information. Even for this outstanding author, it's a tough, complex topic, and he's not entirely successful in simplifying it; moreover, the import of the striking uncaptioned color photos here isn't always clear. One passage—``Cumulus clouds sometimes build up into towering masses called cumulus congestus, or swelling cumulus, which may turn into cumulonimbus clouds''—is superimposed on a blue-gray, cloud-covered landscape. But which kind of clouds are these? Another photo, in blue-black and white, shows what might be precipitation in the upper atmosphere, or rain falling on a darkened landscape, or...? Generally competent and certainly attractive, but not Simon's best. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-10546-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1993
Miranda’s book counts the monsters gathering at a birthday party, while a simple rhyming text keeps the tally and surveys the action: “Seven starved monsters are licking the dishes./Eight blow out candles and make birthday wishes.” The counting proceeds to ten, then by tens to fifty, then gradually returns to one, which makes the monster’s mother, a purple pin-headed octopus, very happy. The book is surprisingly effective due to Powell’s artwork; the color has texture and density, as if it were poured onto the page, but the real attention-getter is the singularity of every monster attendee. They are highly individual and, therefore, eminently countable. As the numbers start crawling upward, it is both fun and a challenge to try to recognize monsters who have appeared in previous pages, or to attempt to stay focused when counting the swirling or bunched creatures. The story has glints of humor, and in combination with the illustrations is a grand addition to the counting shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201835-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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